The Ghost of Castle Crawford – Christmas Interlude
by Terrenis
Summary: It's shortly before Christmas and Ran needs a present for his boyfriend, the duke. But what kind of present does one give to his boyfriend, when aforesaid boyfriend has already everything? On his search Ran gets help from an unexpected source...


The Ghost of Castle Crawford – A Christmas Interlude

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By Terrenis-chan

E-Mail: Terrenis(a)web.de

Part: 1/1

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Youji x Ran (.); Crawford Ran (implied); Crawford x OC; Schuldig x Nagi; Aya Farfarello (Jei) ammo.

Warning: AU, romance, OOC, shounen-ai, mystery, a little bit of humour, fantasy, sap, spooky, OC.  
Summary: It's shortly before Christmas and Ran needs a present for his boyfriend, the duke. But what kind of present does one give to his boyfriend, when aforesaid boyfriend has already everything? On his search Ran gets help from an unexpected source...

Disclaimer: Unfortunately all bishies and the novel don't belong to me, but to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss as well as to Oscar Wilde. If they were mine, I would be so happy. sighs and sniffs

Author's notes: Here's a little Christmas story with our favourite cast:

Ghost: B. Crawford,  
His late lover: Julian of Conneth (OC)

Ran Fujimiya (18)  
His father: Persia (just for this Fic his real name is Shuichi Fujimiya) (43)  
His mother: Manx (37)  
His older sister: Aya Fujimiya (19)  
The Twins: Ken Hidaka & Omi Tsukiyono (In this Fic they have both the same age) (13)

Duke: Youji Kudou (22)

Housekeeper: Schuldig (23)  
His boyfriend and cook: Nagi Naoe (18)  
Gardener: Farfarello (24)

Lady de Crawford: Birman (35)

But now enjoy the Fic!

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Ran was mad. Mad at himself and at the whole world. He really hated this time of the year. Okay, that was a lie. Christmas was normally one of his favourite holydays. But not this time, because this year he had a very big problem with Christmas.

This problem had occurred in form of his handsome boyfriend. It wasn't as if he wouldn't love him, his boyfriend was handsome, well-mannered and wealthy after all, but the problem was another one. What present should Ran give to a man, who had practically everything he wanted? That was a really difficult question for him.

It was their first Christmas together and Ran wanted to give him something special. But what? The redhead had spent the last three weeks with thinking of the perfect gift for the gorgeous duke. But nothing had helped. Not his long, nightly sessions with his laptop, surfing the Net for a suited gift, or the consultation of his friends via e-Mail.

His sister Aya also couldn't help him. She was too busy to find the perfect gifts for the rest of the family and, of course, her boyfriend Jei.

Ran smiled at that. He remembered the moment two weeks ago, when Aya had come to their parents and then introduced the Irish Gardener as her boyfriend. Manx and Shuichi were quite astonished about her choice, but they had given her their blessing after seeing for themselves that Jei was a really nice man, although he did look like he did.

But now back to his gift problem. What giving Youji as a present? He slowly became frustrated. It was only two weeks until the feast of the year.

"Hmmm, maybe I should ask mom!" he said to himself.

Said, done. The red-haired young man got up and closed his laptop, before he left the room. He went downstairs and right into the library, where Manx was standing on a ladder, busy with setting up the last Christmas decorations. Schu was helping her to attach a fir garland and mistletoe to the door frame.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a moment?" the redhead asked.

"Wait a moment, honey! I just need to get this fixed." She said and fastened the last part of the garland.

Finally, she hanged up the mistletoe and climbed down the ladder. Satisfied with her work, the red-haired woman turned to her oldest son.

"So, that was the last decoration! Now we can talk! What's on your mind, honey?" Manx said, sitting down in one of the armchairs.

Ran did the same and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Okay, I have a big problem and I thought that you could maybe help me with it."

"Oh! And what kind of problem do you have? You know you can speak with me about everything!" Manx said.

The redhead sighed.

"Well...I...It's a little bit complicated...I mean it's about Christmas. I don't know what I should give to Youji for Christmas? I mean he's rich and has practically everything and I'm not." it burst out of him.

Manx looked at her son, seeing his dilemma.

"I see! That's your problem! As I know you, you certainly want to give him something personal and special!" she asked.

Ran just nodded.

"Hmmm, that's difficult! It would be a lot easier if you had a girlfriend...But don't worry, we'll find the perfect gift for you and if it takes time till Christmas...! I planned to do some shopping in the city anyway. You can join me and we'll see what they have there!" Manx said.

"That would be nice! Thank you, mom!"

"It's okay, honey! Since your father and your siblings aren't here, I guess we can do it without the disturbances of your brothers!"

"I hope so! I'm sure they'll have much fun in London!" the redhead chuckled.

Just in this moment the telephone in the hall started to ring. But before Manx could reach it, Schu was already there to take the call.

"Castle Crawford, Schuldig speaking!"

"Oh, Mr. Fujimiya! Of course...One Moment please!" Schu said and held the receiver towards Manx.

"Mrs. Fujimiya, Mr. Fujimiya wants to speak with you!"

The red-haired woman took it and began to speak:

"Shuichi?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you called! I was worried that something might have happened to you! Did the twins behave?"

"That's good to hear!"

"Ran and I are fine! We're going to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow! What about you?"

"Hmmm!"

Manx nodded agreeing to what her husband had just said. Then she motioned Ran that he could leave, since the call could last a while. The redhead nodded and left, but not before he had chosen a new book from the library.

With that, he went to his room and decided that reading would be a nice change to divert from his current gift problem.

ooo

Later this evening.

Ran was lying on his bed, reading and listening to his favourite J-Rock and Gackt songs. Dinner had been a quiet affair without his brothers. Nevertheless the redhead had enjoyed, although he had missed the presence of his boyfriend, who was with the rest of Ran's family in London for the next two weeks.

Two long weeks without his Yo-chan, who was in London because of some family business. His father was there, because he had to something because of his job. Aya had wanted to join them to spend there a small vacation with Jei. The twins, of course, also wanted to come with them and had pestered their parents until they had given in.

Since his mother had refused to come with them, she had to decorate the whole castle after all, Ran also had stayed here, just to keep her company and to help her.

The redhead sighed softly and took a look at the alarm clock on the drawer next to his bed.  
It was almost ten. No wonder that he slowly got tired. Yawning, Ran shut his book and laid it next to him. Then he got up and turned off his laptop. But just when the redhead turned to get back into his bed, he discovered that he wasn't alone anymore.

"What are you doing here?" the usually calm redhead growled.

The figure in the armchair near the window chuckled quietly and rose elegantly.

"I'm just paying you a visit! I thought you might feel a little bit lonely without your boyfriend and could use some company!" it said.

Ran narrowed his eyes. It was the first time alone and this damn ghost had nothing better to do than to harass him.

"Thanks, but I can do without your company! So if you'd be so kind to leave me alone...! I'm tired and need some sleep!" Ran growled again and sat down on his bed, getting ready for the night.

The ghost of Sir Bradley watched him and chuckled.

"Actually, I'm here for another reason! I've been watching you lately and maybe I can help you with your problem!" he said.

Ran frowned.

"Why would you do something like that?" he asked carefully.

Sir Bradley just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I just feel like doing it. I know you think of me as the big bad ghost, but I assure you I'm not! However, the offer stands until Christmas! If you change your mind, feel free to come to me!" he said.

Then he turned and was about to go, when Ran stopped him, although he didn't know why.

"Where are you going?"

"Enjoying the quietness of my castle. It's been a while since it was quiet like now. Well, see you later!!!"

With these words he floated through the door. A puzzled Ran stayed behind.

ooo

"So how do you like this?" Manx said, pointing at the window display of the jeweller's shop.

After the strange events in Ran's room last night, he, Manx, Schu and Nagi had gone to the city to do their shopping. Once they had arrived, the four had separated, since Schu and Nagi wanted to something on their own, but not before agreeing on a meeting place.

She and Ran had already visited countless shops, after Manx had decided that a nice piece of jewellery would be a perfect gift for the redhead's boyfriend. Aforesaid redhead also looked now at the display and the golden bracelet. Immediately he began to smile.

This one was really perfect. A golden dragon, which bit himself into his tail and so made a bracelet. The scales were trimmed with lots of tiny emeralds and a big one as the eye of the dragon. It had the same elegance like Youji, when he moved.

It was indeed a perfect gift. But his smile dropped when he took a closer look at the price tag.

"Ran...Ran?"

His mother's voice pulled him out of his train of thoughts and he looked at her.

"You're okay, honey?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Good! So what do you think of this dragon bracelet?" Manx asked again.

Ran sighed.

"It's perfect. But did you see the price, mom?"

The redheaded woman then also looked at the price tag and paled slightly.

"I see your point. I'm really sorry, Ran, that's far too expensive for me! Although it really looks good...Sorry, honey, but we'll have to find something else!" she said.

"I know, mom!"

The redhead sighed again and took a last glance at the beautiful bracelet. He wondered if he ever would be able to find a suited gift. What if he didn't? Would he accept the ghost's offer? No, there was no chance that he would do this. Never.

ooo

But unfortunately for Ran, Christmas came nearer and nearer and the redhead became more and more restless. He couldn't sleep at night anymore because of that. Not to mention that Bradley now had taken up the habit to pay him a visit every night. And so Ran was really fed up with everything and his mood was accordingly.

He had only one day until Christmas Eve and still no present. So he was now sitting in the library and brooding over his situation. The redhead even considered to accept Bradley's offer.

Ran sighed at that.

"I must be crazy to do this!" he murmured to himself and took a deep breath, before getting up.

He walked to the fireplace and looked at the portrait.

Narrowing his amethyst eyes, he sighed again.

"Fine! If you can hear me, I'd like to speak with you about your offer!" he said to the portrait.

Not waiting for an answer, the redhead turned round and left the room to help his mother with the last preparations.

ooo

Later that night, Ran waited in his room for the ghost of Sir Bradley. Sitting in a chair at an antique writing desk, his computer in front of him, the redhead tapped the finger of his left hand on the left side of the bureau, while his head rested on his other hand.

Ran was nervous. Where was this ghost? He glanced at the clock, like he had done untiringly for the last two hours. It was half past eleven at night, only half an hour until midnight, ghostly hour and Christmas Eve.

Some part of him still doubted that it was a good idea to accept Bradley's offer. But Ran silenced this part very quickly. In his momentary situation, he was so desperate that he would have made a deal with the devil himself. Okay, it was just a ghost, but nevertheless...

"Are you waiting for someone?" a well-known voice suddenly said and jerked Ran out of his thoughts.

The redhead turned round and saw Bradley standing at the door frame.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"Long enough! As I can see, you've changed your mind!" Sir Bradley said.

"Seems so!" Ran replied, glaring at the ghost.

There was a long pregnant pause between them until Bradley's gaze softened and he began to smile slightly.

"There's really no need for that. I know the problems of finding the perfect present for a loved one. So if you'd be so kind to follow me, I'll show you something that you certainly will like!"

With these words, Bradley floated through the door. Ran stared after him, but then got up and opened the door, just to find the ghost waiting there. The young man closed the door and looked at him questioningly.

"The Library!" Bradley just said and took a short cut through the Wall panelling.

Ran went down the stairs, being careful not to wake up his mother. When he reached the library, Bradley was already there.

"And now?" the redhead asked.

Bradley pointed at a large black book.

"Pull it out!"

Ran did as the ghost had said. But just when he had done so, a strange noise could be heard and then something happened that the redhead had never expected. A part of the old book shelves opened and revealed the entrance to a secret corridor.

"Wow!" Ran just said.

Sir Bradley chuckled. The redhead was just too cute.

"Follow me!" he finally said.

Both entered the dark corridor, Bradley first, then Ran. It was so dark there that Ran couldn't see a single thing before him.

"Does it have to be so dark in here?" he said, just when he tripped over something.

The ghost chuckled again.

"Wait a moment!"

Just a moment later, torches on the wall magically caught fire. The redhead could finally see where he was going to. After a while he saw something that looked an ancient dungeon door. Ran suddenly had misgivings about that.

The ghost of Sir Bradley went right through this door and on moment later it opened so that Ran could enter the room. He did so and was a little bit shocked what he found there. The whole room was as dark as the secret corridor had been. Everywhere were cobwebs and lots of dust, which had been deposited over the centuries.

It looked really like a...cell.

"What kind of room is this?"

"I live here!" Bradley said with a monotone voice.

"Oh! And why?" Ran asked.

But Bradley didn't answer him. He just pointed at an old chest in the corner.

"There you'll find what you need!!! And please don't ask no more! I'll tell you everything when the right time has come."

The redhead wondered about these words, but didn't say anything. He went to the chest and opened it. What he saw, shocked him and mad him smile at the same time.

"You must be kidding! I can't take anything of those. They must be worth a fortune." The redheaded young man exclaimed loudly, which made Bradley raising his ghostly eyebrows.

"Please choose whatever you want! I really have no further use for them!"

The redhead looked a little bit irresolute, but on the other hand, his eyes had already caught something.

"Are you sure this is okay with you?" he asked again.

"I wouldn't have made that offer if I wasn't sure!"

Ran looked again at the items in the chest. The ghost was right or otherwise he wouldn't have made that.

Still hesitating, the redhead took what he had chosen and put it in a little box he had brought with him.

Then he looked at the ghost again. Bradley was sitting on the old plank bed and reading in one of his books.

"Sir Bradley?" Ran asked to get the ghost's attention.

This one looked up and at Ran. The redhead suddenly became nervous.

"Well...I...I just wanted to...I mean...Thank you!" he stuttered.

The ghost chuckled and then bowed his head.

"You're welcome!" he said and turned his attention back to his book.

"Well...I guess I'm leaving then!"

Ran threw a last glance at the ghost and left the room, closing the door behind him. Back in the library, he closed the door of the secret corridor by pushing the black book back into his original position.

After that, he went back to his room, since he still had to wrap his gift. Ran only hoped that he had made the right choice. And that Youji would like his present. He'd find out tomorrow.

ooo

CHRISTMAS.

The day of all days had finally arrived. Ran was still sleeping, when he suddenly was woken up by a finger, which ran down his back. Stirring slightly in his sleep, the redhead murmured something like "G'way" and turned round. If he had woken up, he'd have heard the quiet silky chuckle in the background. But so Ran was woken up by the cruelest force in the whole universe.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!" two very well-known voices screamed at highest volume.

Immediately, Ran jerked out of his sleep and promptly fell out of his bed. Looking for the source of the noise, he soon saw them.

"Oh! You're back!" he just said, glaring at Ken and Omi as well as the very amused Youji, who was standing behind the twins.

"Boys, I think he's awake! Why don't you go and wake up your mother? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again!" he said to them.

Omi and Ken nodded grinning and ran out of the room, leaving Youji and Ran behind. The redhead stared at the young duke and got slowly up. Youji smiled at him and sat down on Ran's bed. This one followed his example.

After a moment of silence, the redhead finally began to speak.

"I've missed you, Yo-chan!"

"I know. It was the same with me. Next time, we'll make a journey together! What do you think?"

Ran smiled at that and gave Youji a kiss on the nose.

"Sounds good to me!"

Just at that moment, screams could be heard from below and then Manx' loud voice could be heard.

"KEN! OMI! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

Youji and Ran looked at each other and then began to laugh.

ooo

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Shuichi, Aya, the Twins and Youji spent most of the time with telling what they had done in London. When it was time for bed, the twins whined, but gave in after much complaining. Youji also stayed overnight in one of the guest rooms.

In the next morning, the twins were the first to awake. Since they were anxious for their Christmas presents, they woke up every person in the household just to get them as soon as possible. After much complaining on the part of their parents, Schu, Nagi and Jei about getting up that early, everyone went to the living room, where the Christmas tree and the presents were.

The twins immediately rushed to the tree and their presents. The rest joined them soon.

Ran, who was still tired, sat down in an armchair and waited until the main rush was over. Just then someone held a small present in front of him. The redhead looked up and saw his boyfriend standing there.

"Here! It's for you!" he said.

Ran blushed slightly and took it. He opened it carefully and it revealed a small jewel box. Opening it, Ran gasped at the sight. In the box were a medallion and a wristlet, both made of gold. They had the form of orchids and were trimmed with small amethyst and blood-red garnets.

"It's beautiful!" he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, love!" Youji said and gave Ran a kiss.

Then the redhead remembered his own present. He got up and picked it up from the place under the tree, giving it to Youji.

"Here! For you!" he said.

Youji smiled again and took it, opening it carefully. His eyes also began to shine brightly.

"It seems that we had the same idea! But I've never seen anything like this before! It looks so old!" he said, when he eyed the ancient bracelet and medallion of gold, which were trimmed with shiny emeralds.

At this Ran turned a deeper shade of red.

"Well, it's a long story! Do you like it?"

Youji chuckled.

"Of course I like it! I'll treasure like I treasure you, Ran-chan!" he said.

Ran blushed again and gave his boyfriend a spontaneous kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Yo-chan!" he said.

(And Merry Christmas to you, too, Sir Bradley. I'll promise that I'll return your favour. Someday...) he thought, before he turned to celebrate the morning of Christmas Day with his loved ones.

ooo

Somewhere in his little cell, Sir Bradley de Crawford laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

(Merry Christmas, Julian, wherever you may be now. I'm sure we will see soon again. Just wait for me!)

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I hope you liked this little sidefic. I wish you all a Merry and a happy new year, hopefully with more new updates!!!

Comments and Critics to:

Terrenis(a)web.de

Ja ne!

Terrenis-chan .


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